Monday, 13 April 2009

A small selection of photos from Amy and Bruce's wedding in Sandwich on Saturday. The gardens belong to a beautiful house called 'The Salutation'. A lot of shots taken outside were underexposed to preserve highlights.

David, I'm interested in how you approach lens changes at a wedding. What sort of strategy do you have for each lens usage. How do you handle church weddings where you are not permitted to move around - stick with the 24-70? Thanks!

I change lenses a lot. I have a Lowepro rucksack loaded with all my lenses on me at all times. Even if the vicar is very strict this allows me to discreetly changes lenses without problem.

During the ceremony I use the 16-35 f/2.8 as the bride and her father enter, then switch to the 85 f/1.2 and 35 f/1.4 for the exchange of vows, the 35 f/1.4 for the signing of the register and then back to the 16-35 f/2.8 for the exit. Being familiar with the ceremony procedure means you're not changing lenses at key moments.

I typically ask glasses-wearers to lean their heads forward by a degree or two to reflect the flash light downwards. Sometimes a little trial-and-error is required but you can generally get a shot without a reflection.

Another question for you:Like you I enjoy using fast apertures for portraits. I am considering the EG-S focusing screen so I can see the DOF in the viewfinder. I understand you've used one on your old 5D (I think you mentioned it in another post). My question is as these are designed for lenses F2.8 or faster - does stopping one of these lenses down give you the darker image problem you would have if you used a default F4 or slower lens? Or does a darker image only apply if your lens is default F4 or above?

The EG-S focusing screen is only designed to help you with manual focus. It makes it easier to see when a subject is properly focused.

It won't give you any benefit in visualising DOF. To do this you'll still need to press the DOF preview button adjacent to the lens release button on the front of the camera.

When you look through the viewfinder the lens is always set to its widest aperture to allow the maximum amount of light in. It only stops down to the aperture you've selected for your exposure when you fully depress the shutter release button. Hence the reason that a DOF preview button is available (though I have to say I don't find it very useful).

The EG-S screen will transmit less light, hence it's recommended that you only use it with a lens with an aperture of f/2.8 or below. For slower lenses the viewfinder may be unacceptably dark.